The Afterlife Project

Separated by ten thousand years, a team of scientists and their test subject must work together to save the human species--before it's too late . . .

"This beautiful and heartbreaking book reminds us of what we have, and what we stand to lose. Unforgettable." -- Danielle Trussoni, New York Times-bestselling author of The Puzzle Master

With humanity facing imminent extinction, Centauri Project scientists use technology originally designed for interstellar travel to send a test subject ten millennia into Earth's future. Marooned in an uninhabited wilderness, microbiologist Nicholas Hindman searches for evidence of remnant populations. He has a protocol to follow and is determined to do so to the bitter end--though he knows he's probably searching in vain, stranded on an empty planet silently orbiting the sun.

Meanwhile, back in 2068 AD, a devastating hyperpandemic has quelled all talk of interstellar travel and thrown the future of humanity into grave doubt. Four surviving members of the Centauri team board a vintage solar-powered sailing yacht for a harrowing journey in search of a second test subject. Their destination is a small volcanic island north of Sicily rumored to harbor that rarest of creatures: a woman capable of getting pregnant, thereby ensuring this generation of Homo sapiens isn't the last. But first they must make it halfway across the post-apocalyptic globe, risking heatwaves, oceanic megastorms, murderous gangs, deranged cult leaders, a volcanic eruption, and the dangerous microbes that continue to circulate through the planet's atmosphere.

A finalist for the Prism Prize for Climate Literature, The Afterlife Project encompasses a desperate quest for the key to the future of humanity, an impossible love story, and a search for meaning across the inconceivable vastness of geological time.

Tim Weed is the author of The Gatepost, A Field Guide to Murder & Fly Fishing, Will Poole's Island, and The Afterlife Project, which was named a best book of 2025 by Library Journal and the Toronto Star. He serves on the core faculty of the Newport MFA for creative writing and is the cofounder of the Cuba Writers Program. Weed spent the first part of his career leading educational travel programs around the globe and was a featured expert for National Geographic Expeditions. He lives in rural Vermont with his family and three disobedient cats. To learn more, visit www.timweed.net.